


No Monsters

by akelios



Series: Hound Days [3]
Category: Dresden Files - Jim Butcher
Genre: Alternate Universe, Gen, Nightmares
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2012-12-01
Updated: 2012-12-01
Packaged: 2017-11-20 00:49:02
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence, Major Character Death
Chapters: 1
Words: 6,109
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/579467
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/akelios/pseuds/akelios
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>I was still staring at the tv, at my own reflection in it. I looked scared, but I wasn't. It was just a tv show. Monsters weren't real. I wasn't scared at all.</p>
            </blockquote>





	No Monsters

“Hi Ms. Julie.” I grabbed the back of the front seat and pulled myself into the car, shoving my backpack and lunch box over to the far side of the seat. “Where's my Dad?”

“He got a call to do some more work over at the retirement home. It's okay that I picked you up, right kiddo? You'll put up with coming to my house and eat some cookies?” Ms. Julie smiled over her shoulder at me as I pushed the seatbelt together until it clicked. The engine coughed back to life and she pulled out of the parking lot.

“I guess.” I grinned and kicked my feet a little. My sneakers bumped against the seat, making it bounce. Ms. Julie made her own cookies and they were a lot better than the ones Dad got from the store. She put chocolate peanut butter cups in the middle of them.

“That's mighty kind of you.” Ms. Julie reached back with one hand and ruffled my hair. I ducked, giggling.

We picked up Ms. Julie's kids and some groceries before heading back to her house.

I liked Ms. Julie and I liked her house. It wasn't like the little place my Dad and I were renting. Her house was a few houses down the street from ours. It was tall and old with lots of sweeps and curls of wood over the doors and windows. It had 'personality', as Ms. Julie said. I thought it looked like someplace that belonged in _Dark Shadows_. Add a few cobwebs and some graves out back and it could fit right in. It was cool.

“Okay guys. You get a half hour of tv and then homework.” Ms. Julie looked down at all of us, still smiling. She smiled a lot. Sometimes it looked real, other times it didn't. I thought she smiled because she didn't want people to ask her questions. No one asked you questions if you looked like you were happy.

“Yeah, Mom.”

“Yes, Ms. Julie.” I settled myself down on the beanbag chair. The crunch of the beans inside always made me happy for some reason. It was just a happy sound. Crunch. Crunch. Crunch. I wiggled down into the bag just to make it crunch some more.

“Harry! Cut it out!” Toby kicked one of their toy cars in my direction. It rolled into my foot and I kicked it back at him.

“Sorry.” I took a bite of my peanut butter and banana sandwich and mushed it up before opening my mouth and sticking out my tongue.

“Goober.” Toby flapped his hand at me and started changing the channels. “Oh! Hey! _Mysterious Mysteries_ is on!” 

“Cool.” Dawn dropped to the floor beside me, long brown hair bouncing.

“What's ' _Mysterious Mysteries_ '?”

Both of them turned to look at me.

“Really?”

“Well, he is still a baby and it's a scary show. He's probably not allowed to watch it.” Toby and Dawn exchanged a look. “Yeah. So you're going to have to leave the room, Harry.”

“I'm not a baby! And I- I can too watch it. I watch scary movies all the time. My Dad lets me stay up late and everything. I just haven't seen this one.” I folded my arms over my chest and tried to look grown up and not pouting. I didn't know what the show was about but I wanted to watch it.

They shared another long look. I hated when they did that.

“Well...if you're sure. But you can't cry or get scared. If you get scared and we get in trouble I'll pound you.” Toby smacked his fist into his open palm in illustration. I shook my head.

“I won't get scared. I _never_ get scared!”

The show started out okay. Stories about aliens abducting people and probing them. I asked what 'probing' was. Toby thought it was when they stuck things in your nose and ears. Dawn rolled her eyes and told us we were both too young to know about probing. I thought that meant she didn't know either and just let it go.

The host came back on after the commercial, hands in his pockets as he walked around a doll in a glass box. It was kind of cute looking. Soft and floppy with red yarn hair and a painted on smile.

“A doll. Simple, cute, harmless. A child's toy and best friend.” The host leaned against the table, frowning. “Our last story of the evening is about a doll gone bad.”

It started out okay. A family with a little girl. Then the doll showed up. A present from the grandmother. And then everything went bad. Noises in empty rooms. The doll, Raggedy Ann, would move. I stopped eating my cookies the first time they showed the little doll scratching the neighbor with it's soft, pudgy hands. By the time the doll started choking the little girl in her bed Dawn and Toby had stopped talking and we were all staring at the tv.

I wanted to get up and leave the room. I didn't feel good. The back of my neck was tingly and I thought I was going to feel those little hands on my back any second. That's when she moved. When you had your back turned. None of the people living in the house ever _saw_ her move. She snuck up on them, harmless until they weren't watching her.

“Hey guys. It's time- oh good Lord! Dawn Marie Tremmel! What are you watching?”

One of us yelped when Ms. Julie came into the room. I thought it was Toby, but it might have been me. We all jumped, wincing.

“' _M-mysterious_ -”

“You know better than to watch that trash! Look at the three of you. White as ghosts.” She stepped over us and flicked the tv off. “Dawn, Toby. Get up to your rooms and start on your homework. I don't want to hear a peep out of either of you until it's all done.” They scrambled to their feet and I could hear them running upstairs. I was still staring at the tv, at my own reflection in it. I looked scared, but I wasn't. It was just a tv show. Monsters weren't real. I wasn't scared at all.

“Monsters aren't real, Ms. Julie. My Dad says so.”

“Your dad's right. There aren't any monsters. But that doesn't mean we don't get scared sometimes.” She smiled at me again. The almost-real smile.

~

“DAAAAAAAADDDDDDDDDDDDD!” I could hear his feet hit the floor in his bedroom next door. He'd be here in a second. Any second. 

My hands shook as I pulled the sheets up to my chin and scooted back into the corner. It was better with the walls on my sides. The closet door creaked again, opening a little wider. 

“DADDY!” 

“Christ Harry, what is it? What's wrong?”

“Monster! It's in the closet Daddy!”

“I thought we talked about this. There's no such thing as monsters.” Daddy turned on the light with a quick movement. The shadows went away, but not the feeling. I was still shaking and the closet door was still open. I'd closed it before I got into bed. I had.

“I know you _said_ , but the closet door is open. I closed it. The monster in there opened it. It's going to come and get me.” I pulled the covers up higher. “It's going to _eat me_.”

Dad sighed and sat at the end of my bed. I watched the closet door behind him. As long as I kept looking, it wouldn't move. Like the doll. It would only move when no one saw it.

“Harry. There is nothing in that closet but your stinky clothes.” Dad patted my leg through the sheets. “Look.” He got up and opened the closet door all the way. I couldn't see the monster anymore, but the lights were on and we were both looking. So it was hiding. That's what they did. “You see any monsters in here?”

“Nooo...but-”

“No buts. How old are you again?”

“Six.” I sighed and fidgeted. Dad was watching me with the dark shadows under his eyes he got when he was working too much.

“That's right. Six. Old enough to be helping me out with the show, right?”

I nodded.

“And if you're old enough for that then you're old enough to remember that there aren't any real monsters. Not the kind that hide in closets or under beds.”

“But the door-”

“It's an old house Harry, and when they built it they didn't do such a good job.” He closed the door and then stomped on the floor. The door started to open behind him. “See? I did that by stepping on the floor too hard. It's just like the magic tricks in the show. Neat, but not scary. Nothing is ever going to hurt you.” Dad sat back down on my bed and I dove for him, tangled up in my sheets. He laughed and caught me, hugging me tight to his side. “You know I'm right, don't you?”

“Yes.” I wrapped my arms around his stomach. I didn't remind him that there hadn't been anyone in my room to step on the floor before when the door opened. “Can I sleep with you tonight?”

“Sure.” Dad rubbed his hand up and down my back. “Just for tonight though.”

~

“But _Dad_...”

“No.” Dad pulled my arms from his neck and I slid down to land in my bed. I looked over at the closed closet door really fast and then back to Dad. “You've been sleeping with me all week Harry. Enough is enough. You're a little octopus in bed kiddo and I need some sleep.”

“Check the closet.” I kicked at my sheets and the quilt until I could burrow under them. It made me feel a little better to have the layers between me and whatever might be hiding in my closet.

Dad flipped the light on in the closet and opened the door. Just my clothes and my suitcase. He moved my shirts back and forth on the bar, the plastic hangars clacking together quietly. Nothing.

“See?”

“Under the bed.”

Dad sighed and shut off the light, closing the door behind him. I made sure that I heard it click shut. Dad got down on the floor and looked under the bed. I could hear him patting the floor beneath me with his hand.

“No monsters down here.” He sat up, a little bit of dust on his cheek. I laughed and wiped at it. “Dust bunnies don't count. You ready for bed?”

“You're _sure_ there aren't any monsters?”

“Positive.” He leaned forward and kissed me on the top of my head before I could get out of the way. I wiped at the wetness.

“Daaadddd...”

“Too big for kisses, huh? Then you're way too big for monsters. They wouldn't want to eat you anyway. Too skinny! Not enough meat!” Dad wrapped one hand around my arm and squeezed a little. “Nothing but skin and bones.”

“You _promise_ there're no monsters. Pinky swear.” I held up my hand, pinky out. Dad, smiling, wrapped his pinky around mine and we shook.

“I promise you, there are no monsters. You're safe as can be.” With one last kiss Dad got up and started to leave the room.

“Dad?”

He froze, his hand on the light switch. “Yeah?”

“Hall light?”

“Hall light on, bedroom door open a crack. And I'll have my door open too so I can hear you if you need anything. Ready?”

I laid down and pulled the covers up to the bottom of my chin. I could see the closet door but I didn't stare at it. I didn't want Dad to see me staring. He'd know I was still scared and he really was tired. I could see it and I didn't want to bug him any more.

I listened to Dad's steps as he went into his room. He left the door open, like he promised. I turned my head to stare at the closet door. The monster was in there if it was anywhere. All I had to do was keep looking at it and the monster couldn't do anything. That was how it worked. I would just watch it all night and everything would be fine.

_thump_

I jumped, my eyes opening to stare into the dark room. It was completely dark. No light at all.

I'd fallen asleep and my bedroom door was closed.

My heart, already jumping in my chest started to go faster, making me sick to my stomach. I was hot and sweaty under the sheets. I'd fallen asleep.

The monster was in my room. I stared as hard as I could, trying to see it, but the room was too dark. It could _hide_ in the dark.

I wanted to call my Dad. Monsters were scared of grownups. But my voice wouldn't work. I opened my mouth and nothing came out. It was dry, scratchy. Tears made my eyes sting. It was going to get me.

_pat pat pat_

Soft squishy sounds. Under the bed. It had made it all the way under the bed! If I got out it would grab my legs and yank me under and eat me there in that little dark space with the dust.

“Dad...” My voice came out tiny. The noises from under the bed stopped. It knew I was awake now and my Dad couldn't have heard me. I had a second where I thought I saw a round, white hand coming up over the edge of the bed. I jerked away and sat up, my legs getting tangled in the sheets. No more sounds came from under the bed. 

I sat, waiting. Maybe me knowing that it was there would be enough. My clock ticked, invisible in the dark. I wrapped my arms around my knees and waited. Once the sun came up it would go away. That's how monsters worked, even this one. It was a _rule_.

Another big thump came from under me and the whole bed moved, lifting and scratching across the floor with a screech. I screamed, tears making my face hot and sticky.

“DADDY!” I made myself loud, louder than I'd ever yelled before. Silence filled the room after me and I thought the monster was waiting too. Waiting to see if my Dad was coming. There was nothing. No thump of his feet hitting the floor, no running steps or my door flying open. 

Laughter came up from beneath the bed. It sounded like Dawn. A happy laugh. I shivered, my arms and legs aching.

“Daddy! Daddy Daddy _Daddy_!” The monster started to call out from under the bed too, still laughing.

“STOP IT!” I started yelling, trying to drown it out. “StopstopSTOP! Shut up! Go away! You're not REAL!”

More laughter. Deeper now. Not like Dawn at all.

“Oh, silly boy. I'm very real. And I'm going to get you. I'm going to eat you up and your _Daddy_ can't save you. No one can.” A long pause. Now I could hear it breathing, a heavy rasp near the wall at my back. I scooted around on the bed so I could sit more in the middle. “Why don't you come down here? If you come to me I'll make it quick. Just snap your neck. One quick crack and it'll all be done.” Another pause and some wheezy laughter. “If you make me chase you I'll make it hurt. Take you apart a little at a time. Start with your toes.”

My toes curled in on themselves like I could feel its hands on me already. 

I tried to think through the shaking and the cold tightness that was squeezing me. It wanted to kill me. It was a monster, so it was good at that. Even though I wasn't supposed to watch scary movies, I knew one thing for sure: monsters lied. I couldn't trust it.

Even if it wasn't lying it was still going to kill me. Dead was dead and it wasn't like tv where people died and got better. 

If I stayed on the bed then it would come up and get me. If I got off the bed it would chase me and get me. It was fast. I remembered that from the show. And strong. It had lifted my bed. A scary feeling grabbed my chest and squeezed really hard. Daddy wasn't coming. So I needed to get to Daddy.

I had to run.

I didn't want to run. I really, really didn't want to run. As soon as my feet hit the floor it was going to grab me. But I had to or it would eat me anyway. I didn't have a choice.

Thinking that didn't help. I knew what I needed to do but my legs didn't want to work. My arms didn't want to let go. I could still hear it under the bed, breathing and moving. Bumping around under there.

“Okay. Okay.” I said it to myself, quietly. It could hear me, sure, but it already knew where I was. I tried to move quietly but the bed creaked under me as I pulled my legs free of the sheets and got them under me. My whole body was shaky and wobbly, like the time I was sick with the flu. Weak. 

“What are you doing up there, stupid boy?” Its voice came from behind me but still under the bed. I looked back over my shoulder at the space that it had made between my bed and the wall when it was pushing it around. In that dark space I saw a small, round hand come up and silently pat at the sheets there. Looking for me.

I jumped.

My feet hit the floor hard. I stumbled and hit my hands and knees on the carpet, scraping them a little. Behind me it screamed in happiness and I heard the weirdly soft sounds of feet and hands hitting the floor as it scrambled out after me. 

It wasn't that far to my bedroom door. Only a couple of steps, normally. It seemed a lot further away now. I couldn't get my legs to move as fast as I wanted them to. I could hear it coming, laughing at my back. I hit the door, scrambling at the door knob.

It wouldn't turn. It wasn't locked. It didn't _have_ a lock, but it wouldn't open. I shook it, pulling as hard as I could and calling out for my Dad. 

“He's not coming.” It giggled and then, before I could turn around to look at it, it hit me in the back. I hit the door and pain exploded in my face. Something hot and wet splashed down my chin and I could taste blood. I was bleeding as it dragged me down to the floor, still pounding on the door with my hands.

I fought the monster, trying to turn around and look at it. If I could see it it had to stop. It _had to_. The monster drove me to the floor, clinging to my back with its arms and legs. Once we were on the floor I twisted around, squirming in its grip until I had my head turned enough that I could see it.

It was the exact same doll from the show. Long red yarn hair that swung into my face. Perfectly round black yarn eyes that made me think of the shark I'd seen in my science book. The mouth was smiling as it opened wide, showing me rows and rows of sharp teeth. Just like the shark.

I grabbed at the squishy arm, trying to pull it away from me. Waiting for it to freeze and topple over. Turn back into just a doll. 

It leaned back and laughed.

“This isn't tv. This is reality.” It brought its black eyes back down to look at me. “You should have come to me. Now I'm going to hurt you.” It smiled at me, showing more and more teeth. Hands grabbed my head, pulled it back even though I was kicking and yelling and then shoved down, smashing my face into the floor.

Pain exploded in fireworks inside of my head. All I could see was black and flashing colors; wet heat ran down my legs. Shame joined everything else in my head. I'd peed myself like a _baby_. Teeth ripped through my pajama top and into my arm. I screamed again, louder and louder until nothing would come out anymore.

It laughed as it kept biting me. Pudgy little body holding me down; fingerless hands wrapping around my arm and pulling. Pulling. Pulling until I felt like I was going to get ripped into pieces.

Green light came from everywhere at once with a sharp boom like thunder. The monster screamed, angry, and I saw a dark blur race out of my closet and then it hit the monster on top of me. There was growling and noise. More light; green and purple. A woman saying something.

The room got hot and filled with sound. Screams and explosions. I curled up into a ball and tried to disappear. A voice, sounding a lot like my Dad, told me to get up. To run while all the monsters were fighting each other. Because the thing fighting the doll monster had to be another monster. I'd just seen a little bit of it before I closed my eyes, but it had thick dark fur and long fangs.

I couldn't run. I couldn't move. I'd tried running before and it had gotten me. Running didn't work. So I pulled myself in as small as I could and thought about being invisible. About being anywhere else. Unnoticed. Unimportant. Overlooked.

The pain and the fear made it hard to breathe; hard to think. I hurt everywhere, worse than I'd thought anyone could ever hurt and it wasn't over. As soon as they finished with each other the winner was going to come for me. A cold, wavy tingle washed over me. It made the pain feel a little better, a little farther away. It made everything seem like it was just a little bit somewhere else. I let it. It had to be better than whatever they were going to do to me.

The room went quiet and still. It grew light in my room; I could see the light even from behind my hands. Footsteps, more normal sounding than the ones the doll monster had made came toward me. I bit the inside of my cheek and tried not to make any noise. A small sound escaped anyway.

“Oh, very nice. Not quite good enough to hide you, but an encouraging sign. Definitely Maggie's child.” Cloth brushed against my hands and my face. “Harry. Open your eyes.” A hand touched my forehead and then ran back over my hair. It felt normal. Gentle. I opened my fingers a little so I could look through them. 

It was a woman. She was almost as tall as my Dad, with long bright red hair. Green eyes twinkled as she knelt down beside me, smiling. Her hand cupped my chin, tilting my head back. The movement made the bite in my shoulder hurt even more and I winced. Her eyes were funny; not like regular eyes. Hers were the wrong shape. Cat eyes. People didn't have eyes like that.

“Mmm. Malcolm's eyes. Pity.” Her fingers left my face and moved to touch the wound. Cold spread from where she touched and my shoulder stopped hurting. The numb feeling spread further, taking away all the pains. “Still, I think you'll be handsome enough once you're grown.”

Something moved behind me, growling, and I yelped. I jumped and landed in the woman's lap. It was the other thing that had come in with her. It looked kind of like a dog, only huge. Heavy black fur that was wet all down the front; something thick and black dripped off of the muzzle. It yawned, tongue rolling out as it sat down and panted. Happy. Behind it was a field of mixed white fluff attached to bits of cloth and things that looked a little like hamburger before Dad cooked it. Red and oozing. Raw. Those parts had skin on them. It was black and scaly; pieces of it fell off and crumbled like rust as I watched.

Arms wrapped around me and I flinched. She laughed and it was like a movie star laugh. No one laughed like that in real life, but it sounded lovely and good.

“Argos is very thorough, Harry. It is quite dead.” She sniffed. “You're filthy.” She snapped her fingers and my pajamas were suddenly dry and clean. I touched the fabric, staring. Magic. “There we are. Much better. Don't you agree?”

“Are you going to eat me?” She hadn't hurt me yet. Had cleaned me up and made me feel better. But that didn't mean she wasn't going to eat me. Maybe she was just cleaning me up because she didn't like dirty food.

“I have no plans to eat you, no. Such a waste that would be.” She let me go and I slid off her lap, turning sideways so I could keep an eye on her and on the dog-monster. Argos. The womans teeth were brilliantly white and sharp looking against her red lips when she smiled. Too sharp. Monster teeth.

“Are you an angel?”

She laughed, fingers clutching at the deep blue cloth of her skirt as she bent forward with the force of her laughter. Argos made funny wheezing sounds which I thought were dog-monster laughs. I frowned at them, trying to look like my Dad did when I explained how it wasn't me who broke the dish. It always made me feel bad when he looked like that. It didn't work on dog-monsters and whatever the woman was.

“Precious.” Her voice, when she could talk again was filled with her laughter. “Many have thought so, to be certain, but no. I am no angel. I am the Leanansidhe, and that is more than enough.”

“The Lawn-see?” I repeated it a couple of times in my head. It didn't sound right. It didn't even sound like a real name. Her mouth twitched and I thought she was trying not to laugh at me again.

“The Leanansidhe. However, you may call me Lea. We're family after all.”

“No, we're not.” I backed away from her a little more, until my back hit the door. The feeling of it made me a little sick to my stomach. I remembered hitting it and how it wouldn't open. The doll-monster grabbing me. I pushed myself to my feet and grabbed the door handle. It still wouldn't turn.

A rushing sound filled my ears and I started to shake again. I turned away from Lea and Argos to take the handle in both of my hands. I shook it, rattling the door and pulled as hard as I could. It wouldn't move. The same feeling I'd had before, when I was on top of the bed and the doll-monster was under it came back worse than before. My stomach rolled and everything felt buzzy.

“Calm down, child. You're safe here.”

“No. No. Let me out. Letmeoutletmeout! Daddy!” I yelled it right against the door. He _had_ to hear me. Still nothing. No footsteps except for the ones behind me. Lea came, her hands grabbing my shoulders. I yelled and kicked at her, tried to get away but she was stronger than the doll-monster and I didn't get anywhere.

“I had hoped we could have a civil conversation. La. Perhaps you're still too young. Maggie did say the little ones were fragile.” The numb feeling spread from her hands again, but it didn't just go through my body it went through my head too. I stopped fighting and just stood, waiting. I'd been scared but now I wasn't. Now I was sleepy and warm. Ready for bed.

Lea picked me up and carried me over to my bed. Bright, colored lights zipped around my room. Watching them made my head hurt so I stopped. Closed my eyes and leaned against Lea's shoulder as she sat down on the bed.

“You're certain?”

I opened my eyes to see Lea talking to one of the zippy lights. It was hovering in front of her, pulsing a deep red. As I stared at it I realized I could see a tiny little person in the middle of the light. I smiled as I reached out to try and touch it. The light bobbed away, out of my reach.

“How...inconvenient. The creature was more clever than I thought.” Lea turned to look down at me. “Harry, how would you like to come live with me? I have a lovely home with hounds you can play with. Darling puppies.

“I could protect you there.”

“Can Dad come?”

“No. That path is not open to Malcolm.”

I thought about it, through my tiredness. I wasn't sure why, but I felt good about Lea. I thought she would protect me like she said. But if my Dad couldn't come...he was my Dad. He needed me.

“No. I want to stay here.”

Lea shuddered, beneath me. “As you wish.” She moved, sliding me off her lap and onto the bed. I curled up around my pillow, yawning as Lea pulled the sheet up over me and tucked me in.

“You'll still protect me, right?”

“As much as it is within my power.” She leaned over and kissed my cheek. “How do you feel about centipedes?”

~

Sunlight woke me up, hot and bright in my eyes. I rolled over and burrowed under the covers, ignoring it. Dad would walk through the door any second to wake me up for school. I watched the door, waiting. 

The door. 

Last night. The doll monster and Lea and Argos the dog-monster. I jumped out of bed and ran over to the door. The handle turned and the door swung open easily. Good. I scrambled around my room and opened the curtains up all the way, just in case. The sunlight would stop the monster, if it showed up again.

I checked my closet. Nothing. No claw marks. Nothing was even out of place. No marks under the bed. Even all the little bits of the doll monster were gone. I dropped down in the middle of my floor.

It had happened, hadn't it? A real monster had been in my room. Two of them. And Lea who might be a monster or maybe something else. She hadn't really ever said. There should be some sort of marks or bits left though...

I reached over my shoulder and tried to find where the doll monster had bitten me. There was nothing. My arm didn't even hurt anymore. How could that- maybe it was another dream? I had scary dreams sometimes and they always seemed really real while I was asleep.

The doorbell rang. I waited for Dad to answer it. It rang again and then someone started knocking on the door. Maybe Dad was still in the shower?

I got up and went to the front door. I pulled back the curtain on the front window and looked outside. Mr. Ben stood at our door. He saw me and waved. 

“You're early, Mr. Ben.” I opened to let Mr. Ben in. I could see his van in the driveway with his daughter Casey in the passenger seat. She was turned around, saying something to the other kids in the carpool.

“No, you guys're running late this morning. You're not even dressed yet Harry.” 

I nodded, even though I knew he was early. Otherwise Dad would have had me up and ready to go to school. “I know. I just woke up.”

“Okay. Well, why don't you go get dressed and I'll just go say hi to your dad. Is he in the kitchen?”

“I think he's in the shower. He didn't get the door.” I shrugged and headed back into my room. I could hear Mr. Ben behind me and then at Dad's door, knocking. It didn't take me long to change into my school clothes and grab my backpack. I dropped it by my door where I could grab it on the way out after I brushed my teeth. My stomach was grumbling, but I thought Mr. Ben would wait while I got a banana out of the kitchen if I asked. 

“Harry?” I heard Mr. Ben's voice as I opened my door. He was standing between my door and the rest of the hallway, his face pale. He wasn't smiling anymore. “Have you- when was the last time you saw your dad? Last night?”

“Yeah. He tucked me in. Is he up?”

“Good. That's good.” Mr. Ben leaned down and picked me up, walking fast down the hall and heading for the kitchen. He set me down on the counter and picked up the phone. “Um. Just. Your dad's not feeling well. I'm going to call the doctor, okay?”

“Okay. Should I go see him? Does he need some 7-Up?” If Dad was sick that explained why he hadn't answered the door or gotten me up. It even explained why he didn't come when I had my bad dream.

“No! No. Stay right here with me.” He turned away from me a little, leaning over the phone. “Hello? Hello. Yes. I need an ambulance. There's been a...” Mr. Ben looked back at me, then away again. “Someone's very ill.”

_~Epilogue – 22 years later~_

I tossed the little Raggedy Ann doll back and forth between my hands as I looked around the room. Baron Marcone was on the couch, one arm around the weeping mother. I couldn't hear him, not without trying but it wasn't hard to guess what he was saying. Comforting little words that meant nothing. Anything to stop her from crying, really. The widow of his vassal- _employee_ \- looked up at me once. Her eyes were red and wet. 

“Baron. I really need to get moving if I want to use this trail.”

“Of course. Aisling?” He pulled away from her with one last pat on the shoulder. “We will bring Alana back to you. You have my word.”

“And mine.” I nodded my head in her direction, the modern version of a polite bow. Neither of us promised that we'd bring her daughter back alive. We both knew better than that. The girl was alive at the moment but the future was ever fluid and surprising.

Minutes later we were in the Baron's car, following the gentle pull of my tracking spell. I pulled the doll out of my pocket and squeezed it as hard as I could. The seams bulged and a couple of threads snapped but the doll held. It was just cloth and stuffing after all.

“You told Aisling that the doll was to help track Alana, but I've never seen you use an object like that. Doesn't it have to be a part of the person you're tracking?”

“Gard's been teaching you tricks, huh?”

“And I observe you in action. Our arrangement allows me many opportunities to note what you do and how you do it.”

“Mmm.” I held up my other hand and showed him the knot of long black hair tied around my pentacle. The amulet swung out at a slight angle, pointing in the direction of the little girl we were trying to rescue. “That is one of the things I appreciate about you Baron. Your attention to detail.” We were still headed in the right direction. I tucked my amulet back into a pocket and rolled down the window to breathe in the cool night air.

“Then what is the doll for?” The Baron moved closer, his body almost too hot in the close space. We were working and it would go no farther until we were done but I was conscious of his continual interest. Playing around Chicago with him was one of the more entertaining things I'd done since killing Slate and Aurora.

“Nothing.” I muttered _Fuego_ under my breath and the doll began to smolder, its red yarn hair catching fire. I tossed it out the open window and watched it tumble across the pavement for a second before it burst into flames. “I just hate those fucking things.

“Let's go save the girl.”


End file.
